Managed Support for Office 365: Is it necessary?

Office 365 is one of the most popular cloud platforms with over 120 million business users worldwide. It’s an easy-to-use, subscription-based service that gives you access to cloud versions of your favorite Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and Skype for Business.

A common misconception among business owners is that you don’t need technical support to operate Office 365. But to get the most out of the suite, you should consider working with a managed IT services provider (MSP).

Expert planning

The average consumer may not need much preparation for Office 365, but businesses need to assess their requirements to know which plan and features they need.

For instance, if you run a healthcare organization, the Office 365 plan you sign up for must have the stringent security measures necessary to comply with HIPAA and other data regulations. And businesses with multiple locations might also need specific features, such as a centralized user directory where administrators can monitor and manage accounts.

If you aren't familiar with how compliance affects IT or with sharing software among several branches of a business, you’ll likely be overwhelmed. Luckily, MSPs like Hudson Valley IT Services conduct thorough audits to identify your company’s requirements and develop a detailed plan to ensure your Office 365 plan works right for your business.

Cloud migration

Migrating to Office 365 can be a lot of work. You must assign and activate licenses for each user, then set a cutover date to give employees enough time to prepare for moving to the new platform. Finally, you need to sync your data, email contacts, calendars, and compliance settings to Office 365.

Managed Office 365 providers can handle everything for you. They facilitate license management and use cutting-edge tools to sync your data to the cloud in minutes, so your internal IT team can spend their time on more strategic business projects.

User training

Even if your Office 365 migration goes smoothly, you still need to train users on how reap the cost and productivity benefits the platform offers. You can’t expect users who’ve only used Word and Excel to be fluent right away with new cloud apps like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint.

Robust user training programs can be daunting, but that won’t be the case if you work with our Office 365 specialists. Unlike run-of-the-mill IT companies, we provide training materials, tips, and tutorials so you and your employees can use Office 365 to its fullest extent.

Ongoing support

Beyond implementation and training, managed IT services providers offer comprehensive, round-the-clock support for Office 365. Hudson Valley IT Services gives you access to a team of on-call technicians who fix issues ranging from password resets and software updates to data restoration and virus scanning.

We’ll also monitor your network to identify connectivity issues and reduce the risk of downtime, and we can encrypt your data and store backups in our secure data centers to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your files. More importantly, we provide data management services for businesses that are required to comply with industry regulations like HIPAA and PCI-DSS. Small in-house IT departments just can’t provide this level of service on their own.

Office 365 is world-class platform that increases collaboration and productivity, and working with an MSP gives you an even longer list of benefits. Companies that subscribed to Hudson Valley IT’s Office 365 services reported significant improvements in uptime, efficiency, and cost savings. If you think you’re ready for Office 365, give us a call today to find out what our services entail.